Travel/Cultures

Do you love the great outdoors? Well, July is your month because it's National Parks and Recreation Month! There are parks all around Canton to discover and explore! Don't forget to check the Michigan Activity Pass before you hop on your bike or grab your backpack! And stop by our display and take the quiz for activity poms! Check out some great resources to get you started on your National Parks adventure!

The Complete Guide to the National Park Lodges is the only book of its kind-a definitive and practical resource covering all the lodges in America's national parks, from luxurious inns to rustic cabins. National parks experts David and Kay Scott reveal how to leave behind the headaches and make planning the trip of a lifetime painless. Having visited nearly every national park area and lodge in America, they share their sage advice on how to choose a lodge that will best suit your taste and your pocketbook. With beautiful full-color photographs and detailed maps to help you find your way there, The Complete Guide to the National Park Lodges is your key to experiencing America's treasured lands in comfort!

Explore the crystal clear waters on the Summit Lakes Trail at Lassen Volcanic National Park, take in the expansive views at Shenandoah National Park's Old Rag Mountain, or traverse the sandstone cliffs at Angel's Landing in Zion National Park. Choose your adventure from any of the forty-four national parks profiled throughout the book. This book delivers jaw-dropping photos, detailed hike descriptions and maps, ranger essays, and more, all of which combine to create an intimate look at the best our national parks have to offer.

In honor of World Refugee Day, browse the titles below and find stories that will take you on a journey to a new place. Some fiction, some nonfiction, all focus on a story of leaving somewhere behind for a new life.

Click on the titles for location and availability. Additional media formats included below.

When unrest hits the streets of Havana, Cuba, Julian's parents must make the heartbreaking decision to send him and his two brothers away to Miami via the Pedro Pan operation. But when the boys get to Miami, they are thrust into a world where bullies seem to run rampant and it's not always clear how best to protect themselves.

"Subhi's contained world as a refugee in an Australian permanent detention center rapidly expands when Jimmie arrives on the other side of the fence and she asks him to read her late mother's stories to her"--.

SEMCOG announces the launch of Southeast Michigan ParkFinder, a new mobile app that makes it easier than ever to explore recreation opportunities throughout the seven-county region. The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) created a mapping app to help you find parks in the region on your smart phone or on the web. Simply go to maps.semcog.org/ParkFinder to use the map and get access to the ParkFinder app for iPhone and Android smart devices.

For decades, he worked 13-hour days as a line cook in restaurants in New York and the Northeast before he became executive chef in the 1990s...until his "madcap" memoir about the dark corners of New York’s restaurants made him into a celebrity chef and touched off a nearly two-decade career as a globe-trotting television host.

“We have lost someone who was in my opinion the sharpest and keenest observer of culture that I have ever known,” [Andrew Zimmern] said. “When we were alone his hopes and dreams extended into amazing areas.” - New York Times

One of my favorite reasons to read is to discover places I've never been and learn about other people. Particularly in the wintertime I enjoy this kind of traveling, and I always like improving my understanding of the worlds and its people. Africa is a continent, made up of many different countries, that sometimes seems very far away. Try some of these books to bring it a little closer.

Every year the Canton Public Library staff name their favorite book of the year. This list is a mixture of Adult, Teen, Tween, and Children's Non-fiction published between December 2016 - December 2017.

When Swedish-born Linda McGurk moved to small-town Indiana with her American husband to start a family, she quickly realized that her outdoorsy ways were not the norm. In Sweden children play outside all year round, regardless of the weather, and letting young babies nap outside in freezing temperatures is not only common--it is a practice recommended by physicians. In the US, on the other hand, she found that the playgrounds, which she had expected to find teeming with children, were mostly deserted. In preschool, children were getting drilled to learn academic skills, while their Scandinavian counterparts were climbing trees, catching frogs, and learning how to compost. Worse, she realized that giving her daughters the same freedom to play outside that she had enjoyed as a child in Sweden could quickly lead to a visit by Child Protective Services.

Traveling to 41 countries in 2015 with a backpack and binoculars, Noah Strycker became the first person to see more than half the world's 10,000 species of birds in one year. In 2015, Noah Strycker set himself a lofty goal: to become the first person to see half the world's birds in one year. For 365 days, with a backpack, binoculars, and a series of one-way tickets, he traveled across forty-one countries and all seven continents, eventually spotting 6,042 species--by far the biggest birding year on record. This is no travelogue or glorified checklist. Noah ventures deep into a world of blood-sucking leeches, chronic sleep deprivation, airline snafus, breakdowns, mudslides, floods, war zones, ecologic devastation, conservation triumphs, common and iconic species, and scores of passionate bird lovers around the globe. By pursuing the freest creatures on the planet, Noah gains a unique perspective on the world they share with us--and offers a hopeful message that even as many birds face an uncertain future, more people than ever are working to protect them.

Do you have a traveler's soul? Would you love to try food from another country? Have you ever thought about what it was like in the home country of your ancestors? Canton Public Library has a wonderful database that can help you do all those things! The Global Road Warrior database is located in our list of amazing databases that are available to you both at the library and from home with your Canton Public Library Card. Start traveling today!

Discover Digital Photography introduces the technology that has catapulted the photographic world into the 21st century. You'll explore a broad overview of the basics of digital photography, including equipment, software, and practical uses. We'll discuss different types of digital cameras, from phones and tablets to digital SLRs, all of which offer a wide array of photographic options. We'll also help you decide what type of equipment fits your needs, and you'll have hands-on exercises so you can explore the areas that interest you.

All Gale Courses are free with your Canton Public Library card, and the next set of classes will begin on Wednesday, November 8th. Learn on your own schedule, and receive a certificate of completion when you've finished. Our goal is to provide lifelong educational opportunities for you to gain new skills or improve existing ones. New sessions are offered every month. Take advantage of these instructor-led courses on our databases page!

"It is not by muscle, speed, or physical dexterity that great things are achieved, but by reflection, force of character, and judgment; in these qualities old age is usually not poorer, but is even richer."--Cicero (106-43 BC). More websites to check out: